


The One

by Fortisfiliae



Series: The One [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alcohol, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-12 17:23:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13552080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fortisfiliae/pseuds/Fortisfiliae
Summary: A completed ‘James & Sirius x Ravenclaw reader’ series, that started as a oneshot for a very angsty request and turned out to be a roller coaster of emotions, filled with heartbreak, fluff and lots of drama.





	1. Roses and Daisies

Can someone keep you alive and kill you at the same time?   
Is it possible that a person fills you with joy, yet unconsciously sucks out every single strand of happiness? If somebody was able to do it, James Potter would be the one. And you would happily volunteer to let it happen again.

It has always been him. 

Since the very first day of school, when you made your way to Hogwarts, it was him who helped you, when a group of second years had fun mocking you and took away your stuff on the train. It was him who stepped in front of you, when your voice decided to break, who told them to leave you alone, who offered his hand for you to hold on to and pulled you up from the ground.

It was him, who noticed you, being alone in the library all day, taking notes and preparing for tests. Who asked you if you wanted to hang out with his friends.   
Him, who had been interested in your story, what you thought, what you felt.  
It has been hard for you, to open up to others and make friends, since no one was curious enough to ask question after question, trying to dig a path through your thoughts and understand your minds’ workings.  
No one, but him.

Before people knew that he had taken you under his wing, you were an easy target for bullying, being the shy, smart girl. Some found it entertaining to bombard you with balls of paper during class, or jinx you in the corridors. Until he stepped in for you, again and made it clear for everyone around, that if they messed with you, they were also messing with the Marauders.

Sure, his pals welcomed you into their group and they became brothers to you, over the years. But none of them knew you like he did.   
And none of them made your insides flutter, when they sat beside you, letting their knee touch yours, like it was no big deal. None of them left you out of breath when they intentionally messed up their hair, fluffing it up with one hand.   
No one, but him.

The one thing he didn’t know about you, was that you loved him, with every fibre of your heart. Each molecule of your body was aching for him, eagerly waiting to be fulfilled with his affection in return.  
But how could he know? You allowed every moment you had the chance to tell him, to pass by. Every stupid little reference your friends had set up for you, on purpose, was dismissed.   
You wouldn’t be able to reveal, if you didn’t know that he felt the same way, in fear of losing him completely.

The one day he asked you to meet him alone, at the oak tree, next to the Black Lake, felt different. You wondered what was so special, that he would want to tell you in private. Thousands of scenarios ran through your head, each one increasing the tiny ray of hope, he would confess his love, until it beamed radiantly inside your chest.

James sat on the grass, his back leaning against the tree trunk, legs bent, resting his arms on his knees. Fiddling his wand between his fingers, with rolled up sleeves, he turned his head to look at you, when you approached him.  
Your heart skipped a beat, when he smiled, squinting his eyes, in reaction to the sunlight.

“Hello, Daisy”, he greeted, calling you by the nickname he gave you three years ago.

You sat next to him, resting your back at the tree as well.   
“Hello Prongs. What do I owe the honor to meet you here alone?”, you asked, turning your face his way, feeling the touch of his shoulder on yours.

“I wanted to show you something and I thought the boys wouldn’t understand. They don’t get me the way you do”, he said, bumping his upper body tenderly your way, before altering his position, to sit in front of you.

“Okay. Watch this”, he announced, pointing his wand to the spot on the ground between you and whispered “Orchideous”, as he flicked it in a circular motion.

A small bouquet of flowers emerged, consisting of beautiful roses, their red so powerful they could lead you through a dark tunnel, and garnished with delicate daisies.

Daisies.

“Do you like it?”, he asked, scratching the back of his head.   
You could tell he was nervous, but tried to hide the fact that your own face felt like it was burning. It seemed like you could sense every single endorphin wandering up to your head and burst on your cheeks, dyeing them in blush.

You reached out for the bouquet, holding it tenderly and brought it to your face to take a smell. The scent was intoxicating, it infatuated your senses, as you closed your eyes to savour every second of this moment.

“So?”, he giggled, bringing you back to reality.

“James. They are so beautiful. I love it”, you assured him, stroking a blossom with the tip of your finger. A soothing heat filled your entire body.

“Great, I’m glad you said that. So, do you think she would like them too?”

The endorphins vaporized as quickly as they had appeared.

“Who?”, you asked, tucking at the stem of a flower.

“Lily. I want to ask her out and I thought this may help me to convince her. I thought going for lilies would have been too cheesy and everybody likes roses and daisies, don’t they?”, he explained, waiting for you to confirm his message.

The way your stomach tightened, made you feel sick and you struggled to hide your shaking hands, so you quickly laid the flowers back to the ground between the two of you.   
“Yeah, everybody likes roses and daisies…”, you mumbled, “I, uh… I’m sure she will be impressed.”

“Fantastic! Okay, wish me luck, I’ll do it right away!”, James said, sounding oh so chirpy. He took the bouquet and leant forward to hug you, not minding that you didn’t move your arms to return the gesture, before he got up to leave you sitting by the tree.

The way he sounded, talking about her, was how you always wished for him to sound, when he talked about you.  
Your chest felt empty, as you opened it for him to take out your heart, handing it over on your small hands, only for him to turn around and let it fall to the ground, where it pumped its last beats alone.

Still sitting on the ground, ripping out single strands of grass, you felt the need to cry, actually wanted to, but no tears were coming. The emptiness had consumed you, so you just kept staring in the distance, to observe James talking to Lily, from afar. 

He presented her the flowers, you assumed to be meant for you.   
As you watched them snickering when she happily took them from him, to smell them and seemingly thank him, you could only imagine what he said to her, as he took her hand.

The soft breeze you had enjoyed earlier, now felt like it was lashing the skin on your face, mocking you with each gust. 

“What are you doing here, all alone?”, the words interrupted your thoughts and you turned your head to see that Sirius has made his way to you, to sit down next to you, where James has been before.

“Nothing. Just enjoying nature for a little while”, you almost whispered, your eyes fixed to the ground.

“You don’t look like you’re enjoying yourself at all. What’s the matter?”, Sirius asked, as he started to pick stalks from the floor as well.

You didn’t want to tell him, because it would become even more real, when you would speak out what just happened, but you knew that his persistency was stronger than yours.

You sighed, looking up to the sky and resting your back at the trunk, before slowly explaining: “James just conjured flowers and asked me if I liked them. I told him that I did and he was so happy that he decided to give them to Lily straight away.”

The look on your face, filled with agony and shame, told him everything you weren’t able to say.

“Shit… You’re in love with him, aren’t you? And he didn’t know", he concluded, his eyebrows furrowed in sympathy.

Him summarizing what happened, finally made your eyes water.   
You weren’t able to speak anymore, so you just nodded and leant his way, tears running down your face.

Sirius laid his arm around your shoulder and stroked your head, while you were sobbing into the crook of his neck.

“Fucking hell, (Y/N). I’m so sorry. I don’t actually know what else to say.”

Now that the tears were flowing, there was no way they would stop. You whimpered quietly, crying small curse words, as you let go. 

He went on: “All I know is, that you’ll find a guy who will make you happy and deserve all of you, eventually.”

He probably was right, but a guy will never be the one.


	2. Drunk Confessions

Time heals all wounds. That’s what they say. You knew it had to be true, but you also knew that it would need a lot of time, to heal yours.

One week had passed, since James asked Lily out on a date. Still, every time you saw them together - talking, skin touching, whispering sweet nothings to each other during class - you felt like a new part of your soul was cut open, the flesh still sore from the moment earlier.  
It made you wonder if time could heal a wound, that’s constantly being teared up again.

You retracted yourself from the group for a while, not wanting to be exposed to their sickening aura of joy, for every minute of the day.  
You usually spent your free time in the Gryffindor common room, with the boys, but you preferred staying at the Ravenclaw dorm, since the unfortunate incident had happened.   
Knowing that the Marauders couldn’t be bothered to solve the riddle asked at the entrance, you felt safe there and enjoyed not getting regularly reminded of things you wouldn’t like to know.

The place you felt the best, was the library. Thousands of books to learn from, to distract yourself, by letting their stories take you to other places, waited for you to be read.  
You were sitting between two aisles of bookshelves, your back to the window, so the sunlight would shine onto the pages of your newest achievement.  
Letting your knee rest on the table’s edge in front of you, you turned over page after page, diligently reading its text.

A small object hitting your forehead lightly, followed by someone cursing a muffled “Shit!” caused you to flinch.  
When it fell down onto your open book, you frowned and took the mysterious Snitch-sized thing, which was covered with paper. You picked it up and unwrapped it to see, that inside was a piece of chocolate. 

You couldn’t help but smile, knowing who was behind this joke, as you put the delicious treat into your mouth. When you looked up, you saw another item floating your way.

“Remus!”, you laughed, catching the second treat.

“And Sirius”, Remus said quietly, when they both left their hiding place, behind the bookshelf and walked towards you.

“Yeah, how could you forget about me? It was my idea!”, Sirius growled, obviously playing offended, as they took a seat at your table.

You giggled, swallowing the melting chunk of candy and answered: “I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware of you knowing, this school had a library. Remus yes, but I haven’t seen you in here before.”

“She’s got her sass back”, he commented, looking at Remus, before taking the second piece of chocolate from your hands.   
“You don’t need that then”, he said, chuckling, before eating it himself.

“Too kind. What are you doing here anyway?”, you asked them.

Remus, amused by your banter, folded his hands and explained: “We’re here to sort of… Look after you. Check if you’re okay.”

You would have lied, if you said that the fact they worried about you, didn’t warm you heart.   
“Oh guys. I’m okay, sort of. As okay as I can be”, you told them and forced a smile.

One corner of Sirius’ mouth pulled upwards.   
“You’ll feel even better, when we’re going to tell you, what lies ahead this Friday.”  
He cleared his throat excessively.   
“We’re more than happy to inform you, that the Marauders are, again, hosting their infamous social gathering in the Gryffindor common room!”

You raised one eyebrow, asking: “For what reason this time?”

Remus snorted: “This time only, we’re allowing it to happen just for fun.”

“So a party for everyone to get drunk, just for the sake of it?”, you chuckled. “I think I’ll have to politely decline, Mister Moony and Mister Padfoot.”

“Told you, she wouldn’t want to come”, Remus whispered.

Sirius shook his head, trying to convince you: “Come on, (Y/N). You could use a little bit of fun. We all can.”

“I’m aware I could use it, I just don’t want to encounter James. And that’s really likely to happen at a ‘social gathering’ of yours”, you explained yourself.

The boys exchanged glances, before Sirius swung his arm on Remus’ shoulder, telling you: “The two of us will make sure you won’t have to waste a second talking to Mister Prongs. Plus, you will be going not with one, but two gentlemen by your side. Right?”

“Uh… Right”, Remus endorsed the message, nodding lazily.

“Now tell me, who could say no to this once in a lifetime chance?”, his smug look was funny, yet demanding.

“Fine guys. Fine, I’ll come. Don’t make me regret my decision gentlemen!”, you gave up.

They both nodded in delight, before Remus said: “Great. Friday 10 p.m. You know the Password!”

“Pretium Caritate” 

The Fat Lady yawned, as she swung the portrait aside, for you to enter.  
The smell of cigarettes and alcohol hit you and Muggle-music was playing so loudly, you wondered who had been able to cast that good of a silencing spell, outside.

The party was in full swing already, people of all houses came together to celebrate. You let their mood occupy you as well and sang silently to “Stuck in the Middle with you”, as you made your way through the crowd, looking for your friends.   
You saw Sirius, leaning against an open window, smoking, next to Remus, who was occasionally sipping from his cup, as they talked. 

A smile embellished your face, when you almost reached them but you suddenly felt a hand around your wrist, pulling you back.

“Hello, Daisy!”   
Your face fell, when James greeted you, his breath already filled with booze and you could tell he was drunk, by the way he mumbled.

“May I introduce you to Lily? Lily, this is Daisy, um, (Y/N). Two beautiful flowers, am I right? Hah!”, he yelled over the music, laughing at his own joke.

“We already know each other, James. We shared classes for years”, Lily intervened. “Nice to meet you again, (Y/N). Sorry for that, he already had a few drinks.” She raised one brow and rolled her eyes at him, almost unnoticeable.

“Hi, yes. Uh, nice to meet you too”, you stuttered. 

If it would have been possible to disapparate in Hogwarts, you would have done it on the spot. 

Lily went on: “I have already heard a lot about you. Only good things of course. Maybe we can get a drink later, to finally get to know each other a little more?”

You felt a hand being placed on your shoulder from behind.   
Remus came to your rescue: “Sorry guys, I have to kidnap her for a little while!”

You faked a smile and nodded apologetically, waving to James and Lily, before you turned around to follow Remus.

She was so nice. That bitch. How could you dislike someone so genuine?

You hid your blushing face with your hands, before hissing at the boys: “What the hell?! I thought I wouldn’t have to spend a second talking to him. I think I’m going to leave right away.”

Sirius’ expression was pitiful, when he scratched his neck, saying: “Sorry about that. We didn’t know when you were going to come. But now that the worst part lies behind you, you should stay and make the most of it.”

You sighed: “I need a drink.”

Remus pointed to the table next to him, which was packed with bottles of liquor. “Well you can have some Butterbeer, or -”

“Screw the beer, I need something stronger. A shot of Firewhisky, or something like that”, you demanded, still furious about them not keeping their promise.

They both raised their eyebrows, exchanging surprised looks, before Remus told you: “Firewhisky is too good of a drink to guzzle it down in one sip. Hm.. What else do we have? Tequila maybe?”

“Tequila it is then”, you said, taking the bottle, to fill up three shots.

Glasses clinked, salt was licked, heads were thrown back, pieces of lemons were bitten. 

The sharp taste burned down your throat and made your body shake in disgust, before you filled the small cups again, for a second round: Clink, lick, throw, bite.

With each minute passing, you felt your tummy getting warmer and your tension fading, bit by bit.  
Even when the boys told you, that Peter had agreed to participate in a silly drinking competition, which you normally would have found awful, you couldn’t help but giggle, watching him, as he tried to empty an enchanted glass of beer, which filled itself over and over again.

You started to enjoy yourself more, actually had a great time talking and joking with your friends, even if someone’s childish comments were missing. Letting your gaze wander through the crowd of people from time to time, you caught sight of James and Lily, who were chatting excitedly, gesturing wildly with their hands. 

You forced yourself to look away and took a third shot, to distract your mind. After swallowing the drink, which surprisingly didn’t taste bad at all, you looked over to notice that Peter couldn’t see straight anymore and had a hard time standing.

Remus shook his head laughing, put Peter’s arm around his shoulder and yelled over to you: “I’ll bring him to our room, he needs to sleep. Or to empty his stomach, we’ll see.”

Snickering at his misery, you felt the music’s beat taking over your body. You normally weren’t the girl that liked to dance in front of others, but you felt confident enough now and decided that you deserved to have a little bit of fun.

You turned to Sirius and cheered: “Let’s go dancing!”  
He didn’t have a chance to decline, as you were already pulling him towards the floor.

Your moves were cute and platonic, he took your hand to twist you around to the fast music and you didn’t think of anything at all, other than this night really turned out to be fun.  
Occasionally some girls stopped by to ask Sirius if he wanted to dance with them.   
“Sorry, not tonight”, he simply said, before turning back to you.

“You don’t have to do that for me”, you told him. “Go and have fun!”

“I’m having fun already!”, he assured you. “Also I got to keep the second half of my promise, at least. Remus already failed to keep both.”

The next song that came on, was “Piano Man”, a slower one, that you really liked, but it would have been awkward to dance to, so you wanted to make your way back.

“Wait, where are you going?”, Sirius asked, holding your hand. “That’s a nice song. If there’s something Muggles are good at, it’s making music. It’s your favourite, isn’t it?”

You furrowed your brows and smiled, as he took your waist, to lead you to the beat. “How do you know that?”

“Because I listen when you talk”, he said and played offended again.

You exaggerated a gasp, rolled your eyes and put your hands behind his neck, to dance with him. It didn’t feel awkward at all. Maybe it was the alcohol, but it felt so natural to move along his grip and to get lost in his eyes.

He smirked as he watched you swinging in front of him and said: “You know, I meant what I said last week, right?”

“What do you mean?”, you asked, tilting your head a bit.

“That you will find someone who deserves you. Who sees you. Like, properly sees you. I’m still wondering why he didn’t realize you liked him. James has to be blind”, he answered, as he slowly touched your cheek with one hand, still guiding your waist with the other one.

Before you could say anything in return, the song ended and the next one, faster and louder, crashed in.   
Sirius let go of you and said: “I’ll get us something to drink. Any wishes?”

“Just some water for me, thank you! I don’t want to end like Peter”, you laughed and started to dance alone, when he turned around.

Swaying your hips to the beat tipsily, you thought about how kind Sirius has been all night and smiled to yourself, before you were pushed back by someone and felt a body pressing you against the wall.

“Daisy…”, James sobbed into your ear, his eyes red and teary. He hugged you so tightly, you had trouble breathing.   
“We had a fight. Lily and I. She said I was too drunk to be taken seriously.”   
You couldn’t understand the things he went on mumbling into the crook of your neck. He really was wasted.

“James… What… Maybe you should go to bed and talk to her again, tomorrow. When you’re sober, you know?”, you tried to calm him down and pushed him off, tenderly.

“No, I… I just want to”, he carried on mumbling and finally loosened his grip, to cup your face with both hands.   
“I love you so much, you know that?”, he howled, as he came closer. 

His breath was hot and smelled of all sorts of liquor, when he was only inches away from your face, leaning in even more. 

All you ever wanted was him to kiss you. Every daydream consisted of him touching you, pressing his lips on yours, washing you with bliss.   
But not like that. Not when he was so pissed and certainly not when you were his second choice.

“James, stop it!”, you shouted, pressing his clumsy figure away from you.

“Mate, what the fuck?”, Sirius growled as he returned, pushing James back by his shoulder even further, as Remus pulled him off you completely, from behind.

The three of them started arguing, their voices drowned by the music. You saw Sirius’ body tensing, shouting aggressively at James, who was too drunk to defend himself. Remus stepped in, trying to calm both of them down, while standing in between.

You felt a flood of emotions approaching and tried to hold back your tears. As you lost control and started to cry, you left the scene to return to the liquor table.  
After taking two more shots of Tequila alone, you let yourself fall onto an empty couch, next to the fireplace and wept quietly as the party died down.

You didn’t know how long you had been sitting there, drowning in self-pity, when you were too tired and exhausted to get up and return to your dorm. Not caring what other people would think, you closed your eyes and drifted into sleep.


	3. Envious Encounters

A subliminal pain, throbbing inside of your head waked you as slowly as it had put you to sleep, the night before.  
Your eyes were still closed, you didn’t dare to open them yet, afraid of the sunlight hitting you like a hammer, with quick and hard strikes.

You carefully unclenched your lids, peeked up to the stone ceiling and already regretted those last shots you had taken, to realize that you weren’t lying in your bed. With your eyes still fixed upwards you slowly remembered that you had fallen asleep, on the couch in the Gryffindor common room.

As your senses finally came back, you felt something touching your lower thigh. Twitching lightly to the unknown contact, you looked down to see that someone had been putting a blanket over you.   
The touch at your leg was Sirius. He was sitting on the floor, still dozing. His back leant against the sofa, head resting lopsided on top of the seat padding, pressing slightly against your calf.

As you carried on examining, your view wandered along his arm, which was laid on the couch as well, pointed your way. His hand rested only inches apart from yours, making you wonder if he had been holding it, while you were sleeping.  
Woken by your movement, he blinked slowly and stroked his neck, before turning his head your way.

“Morning”, he mumbled, his voice raspy, as he started to rub his eyes.

“Morning”, you replied, pulling your legs towards your body, sitting upright, to lean against your upper thighs, before peering across the room.

It was a mess. Cups and empty bottles spread everywhere, some puddles of strange fluids here and there, with soggy cigarette buds in them. But the view was nothing compared to the smell. It made your headache even worse.

“The aftermath of a great night”, you sighed. “Why are you not in your dorm?”

“I wasn’t sure if that special someone would try to shower you with his desire again, so I decided to stay”, he said and pressed his fingers into his neck again.

All of last night’s memories came back. 

“James… Oh god”, you stuttered, holding your cool hands to your forehead, to ease your migraine. “Thank you for helping me out. And for staying with me.”

“No worries”, he mentioned, while getting up from the floor to sit down on the couch, next to you. “He is just a little unpredictable when he’s drunk, that’s all.”

“He is. But really, thank you. For yesterday. I needed that. I mean, the dancing and having fun again”, you told him and reached out for his hand.   
His soft touch drowned the headache for a second and the way he looked at you, made you realize why all of the girls were after him, once again.  
Your thumb stroked his skin, when you said: “You really are a great f-”

“Friend, yes”, he completed your sentence and nodded slightly, still not letting go of your touch, your eyes meeting in shy reluctance.

“What are you two doing?”, a familiar voice from across the room disturbed the scene.

You turned your head and saw James standing at the staircase, looking back and forth between the two of you, his hangover undeniable.

Sirius immediately pulled away his hand and got up, to pick up bottles from the floor.  
“The real question is, what are you doing out of bed already?”, he asked casually, as he tried to balance them on an already full table.

“Peter started vomiting, so I had to flee. Remus is with him and tries to cure him with some healing spells”, James answered. “Sorry if I interrupted.”

The situation was so uncomfortable, you wondered if someone could die from awkwardness. The way they exchanged glances told you, that there was some serious tension building.   
Best friends in trouble. You being the reason for it, made your stomach sick. You never wanted to stand between them, knowing how much they depended on each other.

You got up as well, to make your way back to your own common room and stopped in front of James, to tell him: “You didn’t interrupt us. We were just talking about last evening.”

“A hell of a night, wasn’t it?”, James snickered. “Actually I can’t remember a single thing. I did something terrible, didn’t I?”

You weren’t sure if he was lying, but this was your chance to make it up to them, so you quickly looked over to Sirius, who was still stacking up bottles from the floor, raising his head to lift one eyebrow at you.

Turning back to James, you answered: “You had a fight with Lily, apparently. Might want to talk to her and apologize.”

With that said, you left both of them behind you, as you walked towards the portrait. Turning back once more, you saw Sirius shaking his head, looking your way, before you got out.

You decided to keep your distance for some time, so the boys would be able to calm down and get back on track with each other.  
As much as it hurt inside, to decline each and every invitation to join them, whether if Remus, Sirius, or sometimes even Peter was asking you, you enjoyed watching the group in the Great Hall, as they fooled around, like nothing had happened.

James never attempted to talk to you, which you were silently thankful for. You needed time to accept his feelings for Lily and tried to be happy for them, when they passed you in the corridors, holding hands or sitting next to each other in class. A fake smile on your lips, a tight sting in your chest, every time they touched, but you slowly got used to the feeling of being the girl, whose feelings remained unanswered.

The cramp your heart sustained, got a tad lighter with each day, until there was only a slight bitterness you had to deal with, only for the moment you had to see them together.

Looking over to the Marauders, while having breakfast at the Ravenclaw table, weeks after the party in their common room, you asked yourself where the pain had gone, when you saw James kissing Lily on the cheek. It didn’t fill you with joy, of course, but it was suddenly so bearable, you couldn’t help but smile to yourself, while letting your eyes wander over the other people sitting beside them.

One person rising from the table, attracted your attention. It was Sirius, looking at you, a small smirk formed on his lips, when your eyes met. He left the group, still staring your way and his smile grew wider, with each step he took towards you.  
Some girls purred “Hi Sirius” as he walked past them. He greeted them with a sluggish wave, until he sat down next to you, his back leaning against the table.

“Hi Sirius”, you imitated their cheers quietly, before taking another spoonful of muesli.

“Oh shut up, (Y/N)”, he snorted. “Not my fault that some people think I’m irresistible. But considering that you’re in a good mood today, I’m going to make my last attempt of asking you, if you want to join us to go to Hogsmeade tonight”

“Your last attempt?”, you asked cheekily, after gulping down your breakfast.

He sighed: “The sass is back again, I see. Yes, my last. My ego cannot bear to be turned down so often.”

“We can’t let that happen, can we?”, you said, still amused by your own audacity. “Okay, I’ll join you. Will the lovebirds come as well? Just so I know, if I should bring some barf bags with me.”

Sirius laughed, shook his head and replied: “No, they’re on a date or something. Just Rem, Peter and me. No bags needed.”

“Oi, our lost one is back!”, Remus chanted, when you met them in the entrance hall, hugging each of the three quickly, before you started walking towards Hogsmeade.  
It felt better than ever, to have them back and you noticed how much you missed every joke, each tease and all of their little pranks.

Your first stop was Zonko’s, since the boys wanted to refill their stocks of nose-biting teacups and some new dungbombs they have heard of.  
It took them ages to decide what else to get, before you went to Dominic Maestro’s Music Shop, to listen to the newest songs for a while.

They wanted to spend the rest of the day at Honeyduke’s, but you told them, that you’d rather sit down in a pub, to rest your feet.

Sirius sacrificed himself to take you to The Three Broomsticks for a drink, so Remus and Peter could go and try all of the new sweets, they’ve raved about all day.

When you got in, the thickness of the warm air immediately infiltrated your pores and soothed your hyped mentality a bit. The room was filled with people’s voices and generic background music. Most of the tables were already occupied, so you sat down on stools at the bar. 

While Sirius ordered two cups of Butterbeer, you were distracted by the bell at the entrance door, which chimed every now and then, when people came in, or left.   
Checking if Peter and Remus were coming, you saw someone else entering, making you feel like the world wanted to play its sickest jokes on you.

Lily, followed by James walked inside, looking through the crowd and stopping their sights at you. She waved at you, a sincere smile on her face, while he raised his brows in surprise and just nodded your way. They placed themselves at a high table next to the door, Lily with her back facing you and you could tell that James constantly glanced over, without having to look at him.

“Wow, I should have brought the barf bags”, you mumbled to yourself.

“Hm?”, Sirius asked, turning to you, as he handed over your beer.

You took a sip, and stretched your neck their way, to show him where to look.  
He bent over and greeted them with a waving gesture.

“I seem to constantly make false promises to you, aren’t I?”, he asked jokingly.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m not letting their presence ruin my days anymore”, you answered, as you took another gulp.

“I can tell. That’s why I knew you would come with us today”, he said.

“You really think you can read me that well?”, the sass returned once again.

“Well, I seem to know a lot about you. For instance, that you try to play it cool, when you’re jittery. Or that your hands are cold, most of the time”, he smirked, as he reached out for your left one. “I can also tell, you’re getting nervous when I hold it.”

He was right and you hated to admit it. 

Thinking a little bit too long, about what to answer, you said: “I’d be impressed if these things wouldn’t apply to any other girl.”

“Playing it cool again”, he detected, still not letting go of your hold.

You snickered and took a big sip of your drink, desperately trying to hide your blushing cheeks.

“Wow, now you’re making this too easy for me”, he laughed. “You’ve got some cream left on you. Let me help you with that.”

His free hand wandered up to your face, letting his thumb stroke lightly above your upper lip, leaving all sorts of tingles on your slightly agape mouth, before he pulled it back, to suck off the residue.

“Sweet”, he said casually and grinned.

“You’re going all in today, Black”, you sighed, as you felt someone staring at you, from afar.

You turned your head to glance past Sirius, where James and Lily were standing. As you caught him looking at you, he interrupted Lily’s words, to pull her towards him and kissed her, so passionately, it made your jaw drop.

Sirius, alerted by your expression turned over to watch them as well, when James suddenly opened his eyes, looking straight into yours, while he was still snogging Lily. 

It was such a bizarre sight, you didn’t know how to react. “Is he? Are they… Did he really just…?”

“I think he did”, Sirius sputtered, equally shocked as you.

“Oh, I’m having none of this bullshit. Can we leave?”, you asked enraged, already collecting some change from your wallet. 

You put two Sickles on the counter and left without bestowing James another glance, Sirius right after you.

When the door was shut behind you, you needed to vent your anger, words flowing bitterly out of your mouth: “I can’t believe what he is doing. What happened to him, why is he like that?!”

“I thought you didn’t mind seeing them?”, Sirius asked.

“I don’t care if they’re kissing, it’s that sick game he wants to play, making me furious. He wants to start some kind of competition and I will not take part in that crap. You’re his best friend, not his enemy. And I was his friend too. What did he expect? That I’d start crying over him, or that we would start kissing as well, to try and surpass them?”

“Well, we could go back in and give them a show”, he tried to calm you down with mischief.

“No thank you”, you snorted. Sirius really knew how to deal with your emotions.

He leant against the outside wall of the pub, sighing: “Thanks for the compliment.”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I… just don’t want to obviously try to make him jealous, like he does with me. You don’t deserve to be used like that”, you said, taking some steps his way, before summoning all of your courage.   
“I’d like to kiss you without having to think of anybody else.”

“Do it then”, he whispered.

And you did. 

Your shaking hand reached for his neck, being placed softly on his skin, before you pulled his face your way, so gently it seemed like time had stopped running.  
The look he gave you was equally as magnetizing, as his tender lips touching yours, with slow and silky strokes. When he pulled you closer by your waist and started caressing your cheek with his other hand, still blessing you with affection, you felt like the most special girl on earth.

You didn’t want it to stop, could have gone on for hours, thinking of nothing else than him and you, sharing something so private, so vulnerable, showing each other what words could never have expressed.   
Each kiss, every touch washed off your anger bit by bit, leaving your soul spotless and shining.  
His tongue entering your mouth deepened the feeling even more, as he hungrily traced every inch of you, like he had been waiting for an eternity to do it.

His touch was warm, lips so smooth, taste so sweet like hot chocolate, as he poured his tenderness over you, before placing one last peck on your lips and you both just smiled, knowing there was nothing left to say.

When you made your way back to the castle, he took your hand while walking and you enjoyed every step you shared in silence.

Meeting Remus and Peter back at Hogwarts again, they showed you all of the sweets they got, describing what made each single one so special. They were so into it, that they didn’t notice how flustered Sirius and you were.  
After appreciating every purchase they made, you told them that you would make your way to your dorm and wished them a good night, looking at Sirius for a little longer, than the other two.

Smiling like a fool, you took the stairs up to your dorm, thinking that you couldn’t be more happy.

At the same time, Sirius realized that he had forgotten to ask you something, so he started following you.

When you got closer to the entrance of the Ravenclaw common room, you saw someone standing in front of it, alone.   
As you recognized that it was James, seemingly waiting for you, your stomach tightened. What did he want now?

Sirius, who arrived shortly after you, was surprised to see you with him and came a bit closer to listen to your conversation, but remained unnoticed.

“Didn’t you humiliate me enough before?”, you asked James, your joyful thoughts drifting away again.

“Daisy… I’m sorry. I truly am. For what I did before. And anything that happened actually”, he said and you could tell he was honest, by the way he messed up his hair, when he was confessing.

“Well, that’s a little late now, isn’t it?”, you stated in reservedness, and folded your arms in front of your chest.

“Listen… I… I know, I shouldn’t be jealous, you aren’t even mine. But when I see you with him, I can’t control myself. It’s just too much.   
I’ve always liked you. More than a friend. I just was too scared to admit it.   
When I asked you to help me with the flowers for Lily, I thought you maybe would stop me and tell me to stay. You know, you being the one whose good with their feelings.   
Now I’m in this vicious circle I can’t seem to escape and I make all of my friends despise me more and more, with every dumb thing I do. I’m a mess without you. I guess what I wanted to say, was: You’re the one I’m thinking of, before I go to sleep and you’re the one thing that’s on my mind, when I wake up. You’ve always been the one”, he revealed, pouring out his feelings in front of you.

The words you always wished he would have said, were thrown at you, when you finally were happy again. Knowing him and that he was a good guy, just a little self absorbed, you started to feel sorry. He had been your best friend for years after all and it broke your heart, to see him suffer like that.

Too many emotions were splashing inside your body, so you just stood there, looking at him with wide eyes, mumbling: “You’re a fool.”

James took a step closer to you and said: “Daisy, I want to show you, how much I care. Let me kiss you just once and if you tell me you don’t feel anything at all, I will not bother you again. Please.”


	4. What Daisies need

James took a step closer to you and said: “Daisy, I want to show you how much I care. Let me kiss you just once and if you tell me you don’t feel anything at all, I will not bother you again. Please.” 

Him opening up for you, made you soft. It was obvious that he had the hardest time telling you about his feelings, his usual confidence was lacking and the look on his face was so nervous, yet full of hope.

Flashbacks of things he had done for you, wandered through your mind. Like the time he took notes for you in class, when you were sick and came to visit you, every day for a week, in the hospital wing. Or when he mentioned his own flaws in front of others, so you wouldn’t feel as awkward, when something embarrassing had happened to you.   
The list went on and you remembered, that he has been a great friend and you were so thankful for each minute you got to spend together.

There was one memory, which left the most lasting impression. The day he took the flowers from you, to give them to somebody else, leaving you alone while he carried on seeing her every day, taking his path away from you, not caring how you felt.   
And who witnessed all of it and was there, while you tried to collect the broken pieces, James left behind? The one who was building you back up, patiently healing you, knowing when you needed space or closure, not expecting anything in return. 

Both of them had a special place in your heart and you hated to hurt either. Sirius was the one who helped you up from the ground, the one who could read you so well, you didn’t have to say what you thought, because he already was aware of it. But James was the one you had always longed for, the one who sped up your heart rate, every time he smiled. 

You had to make your choice: Sirius, who had been caring for you and your well being, trying everything to make you happy again, while putting your needs over his own; or James, who had finally admitted to like you, fulfilling your eternal desire. 

It was the hardest thing to do, but you made your decision.

He still stood in front of you, hands in his pockets, waiting for you to make a move, when you said: “James… We are both stupid for not confessing our feelings to each other and I understand that you were afraid, because I was too. But thinking I would try to hold you back and stop you from being happy, makes me wonder, if you ever really knew me.”

“I know… Sorry I messed everything up”, his tone turned into a whisper.

“Also you didn’t mind ignoring me and only when someone else was looking after me, that’s when you decided to take action. It’s not enough for you to see me happy, but you had no problem to see me suffering”, you told him and took a deep breath, afraid of what you were about to say. “So no, James, I will not kiss you. I’m sorry.”

He nodded slowly, his view tracing the floor and you could see the pain in his chest, when he exhaled sharply through his nose.   
“Okay”, he simply said, to prevent his voice from breaking and gave you one last glance, his eyes wrapped in mist, before he turned around and left.

Your view followed him, as you watched him go, when you noticed someone standing on the uppermost step, who had been listening to your conversation.  
They looked at each other, shared a glimpse of agony, when James passed him to go down the stairs.

“I didn’t know you were here”, you told him, as Sirius came closer. “Did you hear everything?”

He didn’t respond, kept coming your way, each stride quicker than the one before and when he reached you, he grabbed your upper arms to push you against the wall, his weight pressing your body to the cold stones, where his mouth attacked yours, to answer your question non verbally.

A small gasp left your lips, before you replied with the same force, kissing him eagerly, as you welcomed his embrace. He held you tight, letting you know, that he would never let go, if you didn’t ask him to, while he continued to place his soft affection all over you.

After a few minutes of deep kisses, which made you addicted to the touch of his lips, he stopped to catch his breath.   
With the most satisfied grin on his face, he asked you: “Not that I’m not enjoying this, but I got to know. Why me?”

You giggled and held his cheek, before answering: “You have been perfect all the time. It just took ages for me to realize it. You were there for me when I needed it. Just there, not asking questions or for anything else and waited for me to become ready. You have been so good and caring, I’m wondering if I even deserve this. And you never would have asked me to decide.”

“Oh, wouldn’t I?”, he arched a brow in amusement.

“No, you wouldn’t. You knew that I needed time. And I thank you for knowing me so well”, you said and placed another kiss on his mouth. “With that said, may I introduce you to the Ravenclaw common room?”

You took his hand, leading him to the entrance to answer the riddle and took him inside with you, where the two of you spent the rest of the night.

That’s when you knew, you found him. The one for you.

The end.


End file.
